WHAT MEDICAL-SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES CAN LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER

Colleges and universities devoted to undergraduate education and non-m edical graduate education (hereafter called ''universities'') have muc h to teach medical schools and much to learn from them. Universities a nd medical schools differ significantly in their sources of revenue, c ultures of promotion and tenure, academic values, and decision-making processes. Yet from the experience of universities, medical schools ca n learn innovative techniques of curriculum assessment and teaching, h ow to handle diversity issues, and ways to expand the definition of sc holarship. In turn, medical schools can kelp teach universities the im portance of fiscal and regulatory accountability, the benefits of inte rdisciplinary efforts, the practical benefits of problem-based learnin g, and techniques for adjusting to rapid change. The authors, all with :medical School faculty backgrounds, developed the views reported in t his article when they were Fellows in a leadership training program sp onsored by the American Council on Education (ACE). They urge their co lleagues: to reach out beyond their Specialties and departments and le arn from higher education institutions that are grappling with problem s analogous to those faced by medical schools.